Missing
by charmony
Summary: NPH 16 - Two children missing in Wyoming interrupt the perfect Saturday, sending the BAU racing across the country to the rescue; but in the end, they won't be the only ones missing.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So we are back in the land of the multiple-chaptered stories and I have a pretty clear idea of where this one is going to go. Everyone wish me luck for staying on track. Oh, and stick with me, because it may take a few chapters for it to become clear what I have actually done with everyone and parts of it will be in flashback (New Section will turn into Flashback in this instance - check out the dividers between sections for clarification) but it should hopefully be worth the wait. **

**Reviews! I opened up my email this morning and there were reviews! I feel like jumping up and down and screaming for joy. HPforever-after continues to get kudos for being my only reviewer for The Quiet Moments and The Longest Night (please feel free to add to what this wonderful person has said of those pieces) but now there are more reviewers and I am so excited to thank you all I think I'm rambling (pretty impressive in an age where all you have to do is hit 'Delete' huh?).**

**Thanks heaps to Kate and I really hope I can continue to improve on what you are reading so that others down the track can also become favs. x-MJ-x gets massive thanks for totally rocking my world with your fantastic review and I really hope you enjoy everything up to now even though you know somewhat where everything is going having read 'Scream' first. Lots of thanks to miaa29; you know me too well. ;) And a big sing-out to babygurl0506 for another awesome review (if you haven't read any of her work, I totally recommend you go check out her author page).**

**Rated M for sex scenes, adult themes and other things.**

**PLEASE NOTE: This is NPH 16. If you aren't already following this series, I recommend that you make your way to my author profile page and start with NPH 1, as some or all of this will not make sense otherwise.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me and I do own Carrie and Toby, Chloe and India. **

Missing – Chapter 1

Flashback

Emily yawned and leaned against the lift wall. The day had been perfect but long and all she wanted to do was shower and fall into bed with Aaron. Thankfully this was the last stop of the day and then she could do just that.

The lift dinged and the doors opened on the 6th floor of the FBI building. Aaron had promised he would only be a couple of minutes and only needed to shift a few files from his desk to another as they weren't for him to deal with and he'd forgotten last night to properly reassign them. Considering how tired her husband was, she had no doubt they'd be back in the car in five minutes tops.

As Aaron stepped out ahead of her with Jack sound asleep in his arms and she followed pushing the pram with the twins and they spotted Strauss looking far to grimly pleased to see them, she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her abdomen that she was going home alone.

Flashback

JJ lunged for the phone before it could ring a second time and held her breath for a few seconds as Hotch asked in her ear if anyone was there. He was just beginning to sound worried when she exhaled in soft relief and slipped out of the room.

"Hi Hotch. Sorry about that, but Henry's running a temperature at the moment and has only just fallen asleep for the first time in about 12 hours. I was praying he wouldn't wake to the phone and he didn't. What's up?"

"Sorry JJ, but we have a case in Wyoming. A couple of kids went missing and we need to get out there asap."

"Of course. I'll let Will know and will be there in 20 minutes."

She hung up the phone and went to find her husband, who wasn't really that well himself.

He looked at her through red-rimmed, exhausted eyes and smiled slightly. "Do you have to go away Cher?"

"Unfortunately. Are you going to be alright coping with both you and Henry being unwell at the same time with me not around to look after you?"

"Hmm. I guess we'll find out. Honestly though, I'm sure we'll be fine and if need be, I'll call Carrie and see if she can come and help out for a few hours so I can rest…"

She watched him fall asleep between one breath and the next and sighed. She didn't like leaving when her family were ill, but at least she knew they were safe and it wasn't life threatening. Two children weren't so safe and they needed her attention.

Pretty certain that Will wouldn't remember the conversation in the morning, she wrote him a note, gathered up her things and after kissing both her males goodbye, she slipped out of the house and headed to work.

Flashback

"Ugg. I am so glad I can sleep in tomorrow morning and that there is nowhere pressing I need to be for the rest of the day."

Kevin smiled just slightly at this repeat statement. Penelope had been sick on and off all week and a trip to the doctor that morning had definitely been the order of the day. The doctor had been slightly stymied and more than looked harassed that so many people would choose to invade his Saturday with their ailments but he'd been thorough and after taking blood and urine, he gave them a prescription for anti-nausea drugs and sent them home with the caution to get some rest.

Which left him with an extremely unhappy tech kitten goddess to deal with.

His smile faded and he sighed silently. _Looks like my birthday isn't going to be quite as exciting as I would have liked it to be._

Penelope sighed unhappily and with a groan got up slowly from the mat in front of the toilet. As she stumbled to the sink, he closed the lid and flushed the evidence of her unhappiness. When the water stopped swirling he could faintly hear a mobile ringing in the living room. He left her to clean her teeth and found her phone ringing on the coffee table. He grimaced as he saw who it was.

"Hey Hotch. Please don't tell me you need Penelope tonight."

"Is she still not feeling the best?"

"Unfortunately not and the doctor seemed clueless when he checked her over this morning."

He watched her walk toward him and thought she looked a little bit better as she wrapped herself around him and rested her head on his shoulder. He dropped a light kiss on the top of her head.

"Would she be up to a case do you think or is this likely to drag on for another few days?"

He sighed quietly. "I know better than to make those decisions for her. Hang on a sec."

He handed her the phone and wrapped her up snugly with both arms as she talked with her boss. He knew before she hung up that he would be sleeping alone that night.

"Sorry baby, but I couldn't just say no. There's a couple of missing kids in Jackson, Wyoming and what with it being tourist season and Emily still well and truly on maternity leave, I couldn't say no."

"No, of course you couldn't. You grab what you need and I'll drive you in."

She shot him a sweet smile and turned to do just that.

Flashback

Austin wanted to swear when she heard the phone start ringing. No good news ever came this late on a Saturday night.

Reid seemed oblivious to the tones sounding lowly in the room and for a second even she forgot it as his lips latched onto one of her nipples. She reached out for the phone as his mouth continued to travel down her body. She knew it was a really bad idea to answer, not just because it would take Reid away from her for however long the case went for but also because it would be blatantly obvious what was happening as she picked up the call, but it was far too late now to change her actions.

She almost had the phone to her ear when he locked his mouth around her core and sucked hard and fast and she came up off the bed screaming. She reached out with her free hand, gripped a handful of his hair and yanked up. His eyes were glazed as they took her in.

She carefully put the phone to her ear and said a husky, "Hello?"

There was a momentary pause and then a familiar, rather embarrassed voice asked, "Do I want to know?"

She closed her eyes in embarrassment. "No sir, you don't. I'll put Reid on."

She tugged on his hair and he climbed up her body, kissed her firmly and then took the phone.

"Hello? Oh Hotch, ah yeah…" she smiled as her husband turned into a stammering, embarrassed young man, as if he'd been caught doing something highly illegal. She wondered if they'd have enough time to finish what they'd started as her body trembled slightly under his.

When he hung up a moment later, he smiled sheepishly down at her. "Sorry about that. I don't recall actually hearing the phone ring; that's how distracting you are."

"You should only be sorry if you can't finish what you started."

His grin built slowly but when it came, it was accompanied by an unholy gleam in his eyes. He wriggled back down her body, spread her legs and with one last look at her face, put his mouth back where they both wanted it to be.

Flashback

Derek glared at the phone in annoyance as Jordan worked her magic and he reached down to tunnel his fingers into her hair, tugging gently just as she closed her mouth around him even tighter and deep-throated him. Damn but the woman was _good_.

He ignored the phone as she continued working on him but he stopped her just short of ecstasy to lift her up and straddle her right where he wanted her.

Gasping, he said, "Hold that thought while I check who wants us so urgently."

The phone was intruding again. Jordan shot him a naughty little smile and rotated her hips slowly as he picked up the ringing handset.

He stopped her movement by rolling them both and muttered, "Stop a minute woman." And then louder into the mouthpiece, "This had better be good at this hour on a Saturday night."

"Do you realise this is the second call where I am feeling distinctly embarrassed to be interrupting what I am interrupting? Don't you people ever take the phone off the hook when you go to bed."

He about swallowed his tongue as Jordan's hand made it's way between them and cupped his balls in her more-than-capable hands and squeezed gently.

His voice when he replied was husky and strained. "Is it really that important that it can't wait?"

"Depends if you think two missing kids are important or not?" he replied with more than a little reproof.

"Jordan stop," he said, more sharply than he'd meant to as she shot him a hurt look. He stroked her cheek and kissed her lightly in apology.

"Where and when?"

"Wyoming and as soon as everyone is here and briefed."

"I'll be there in 20."

Hotch hung up on him and he set the phone back on the bedside table slowly, thinking about what was to come. He hated working cases with missing kids. It didn't always end up well and it always hit him harder now that he had Ben to think about.

"It's bad," Jordan said softly. He looked down at her to see she'd let her hurt go and was watching him with compassion.

He nodded in reply. "Missing kids are always bad."

She nodded agreement. "I'm sorry about that. I should have thought that Hotch wouldn't ring if it weren't important."

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I will have to go but we have just under two minutes for make-up sex, if you're interested."

She blinked startled eyes at him, smiled gently and nodded.

"I'm in," she murmured as she pressed up into him and kissed him hungrily.

Flashback

Kelly noted all the missed calls on her phone and winced as she quickly dialled. She and Brad had taken a cruise on the harbour with no cell service coverage due to a downed tower and she seriously hoped she wasn't too late.

"Agent Hotchner."

"Hotch? Its Kelly. Sorry, I've only just returned to an area with cell service. Am I late?"

"Not yet. I need you in here at the office as soon as you can manage it. We have a couple of missing kids in Wyoming."

"Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can."

She hung up and turned to Brad as he held the car door open for her.

"You have to go baby?"

"Yes. Thankfully my go-bag is here in the car. Do you mind dropping me in to work?"

"Not at all, though I'll be honest and admit I'd rather take you home."

She grinned and nodded agreement and watched the harbour recede as he took them inland.

Flashback

Teresa looked around her as embarrassment turned to sweet emotion as she took in the scene in front of her. She'd dressed with care because Dave had asked her to so nicely. He had arrived in a sleek black limo to pick her up and they'd been driven to the premier place in the city to dine at that moment while he started in on a subtle, intense seduction. The best table in the house, the most discreet service, the continued seduction and then he'd coaxed her onto the dance floor.

And absolutely none of it had given her even a momentary clue to what he had intended to do this evening. Her so-private Italian stallion had outdone himself that night.

Now she looked down at the man on one knee in front of her and knew all her dreams were coming true. Because there was no way this man would be asking her to marry him in an extremely public place if he wasn't absolutely sure of what he wanted. And what he wanted was her.

"Teresa, you know me, so you know this is the very clearest way I can declare my intentions towards you. I nearly lost you recently and it made me re-evaluate what I want out of life. I love you, more than anything and I would gladly give up everything I am if it meant that you were mine at the end of every day for the rest of my life. I know I was an ass for a lot of years but I've figured it out and you are more than what I need for the rest of my life to be perfect. So please, baby, will you marry me?"

She could have heard a pin drop outside the restaurant as everyone held their breath waiting for her reply. She thought about drawing out the suspense but decided that there was no way she was crushing this mans' dreams even slightly by making him wait for her answer any longer than necessary.

"I have loved you almost from the moment I first laid eyes on you so yes, David Rossi, I will marry you."

He smiled, and it took her breath away as he surged up and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her as the crowd around them applauded wildly and she distantly heard the pop of a cork on a champagne bottle as he looked at her close up.

"I hope you didn't feel trapped into saying yes in a bid to spare my feelings in front of so many onlookers."

She whacked his arm hard and then soothed that spot as she said gently, "If you don't know how I feel about you yet there is something seriously wrong. I said yes because I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And you don't need to change a thing because I love you as you are _now_."

"Good, because I would be loathe to let you back out now."

She smiled radiantly and kissed him as she pressed in closer. He happily returned the kiss, placed the gorgeous diamond ring cluster on her finger and led her back to their table amid many calls of congratulations.

As she settled back in her seat, she heard her phone ring and had a mind to ignore it except that it was late and no one called this late unless it was urgent. She checked the caller ID and blinked in surprise.

"Hello Hotch. I'm surprised you are calling me and not Dave."

"Hello Teresa. I'm surprised I have to call you and not Dave. He wasn't answering his phone and I was hoping you were with him."

"Then you're in luck. Just a moment."

She handed over the phone with a smile and signalled the waiter. She didn't think they'd be here for much longer somehow. By the time the bill arrived, Dave was off the phone and she pushed the wallet towards him, by now knowing better than to think he'd allow her to pay.

As he escorted her out of the restaurant he explained what was happening in Wyoming and she agreed that there was no time to waste as they climbed in the limo and he sent it arrowing towards Quantico.

New Section-

He tripped on a tree root and fell to his knees beside a tree bigger around the base than he was and could have cried in happiness when he looked up to find the distant sound of rushing water was now a reality in front of his eyes. His dry throat constricted further as he climbed clumsily to his feet and stumbled down to the edge. He crouched down and got a handful of water in one shaking hand.

He didn't remember how he'd come to be there nor did he know where he was. What he did know was that he was cold, tired, thirsty and in a bucket-load of pain. He wanted a soft bed and a warm body to snuggle up to and all the water he could possibly drink. He lifted the hand steadying him and dipped both hands down to the water in the hopes that he could get more water than he had with one and knew distantly that it was a big mistake as he lost his balance.

His head roared in renewed pain and his body went completely numb as the water closed around him and as it sucked him down and tossed him about he succumbed to the sweet darkness sweeping his pain away.

End-

**A/N: Confused much? Hee Hee. The queen of the cliff-hanger is back!**

**Don't worry if it doesn't make a lot of sense. Have fun imagining all different scenarios (and feel free to share them with me if you so choose) on what is happening and stick with me because once my scene is fully set we shall rocket into the here and now with a roar and a bang (maybe figurative, maybe literal).**

**Please let me know what you think with a review button conveniently placed just below this paragraph. Even if it's just a couple of words, I like to know what you think and it makes me want to continue to write. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: ****Hey, back again and feeling heaps better about the writing now that the encouragement has resumed in the form of amazing reviews from you, my amazing readers.**

**Massive t****hanks go out to Hazmatt for reviewing everything from The Quiet Moments to now in the space of about an hour and continuing to say such wonderful things about my work. Hey, don't worry about the length of time between reviews. I totally understand how crazy life can get. As to the flashback time period, if I give that away it will spoil all the fun and make it too obvious what's gone wrong and I'm not ready for that just yet. ;) I will tell you its not coming out in this chapter though.**

**Rated M for adult themes and other things.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me and I do own Carrie and Toby, Chloe and India. **

Missing – Chapter 2

Flashback

"Darling Penelope, you look terrible."

"And I feel worse but babies definitely make things better."

Emily smiled in amusement as her friend joined JJ where the other woman was cuddling with Chloe while she fed India. A soft argument broke out over cuddling rights and she was relieved that JJ won and kept hold of her oldest daughter while Garcia settled in to coo over her shoulder. The last thing she wanted to have to deal with over the next few days was a stomach bug in a couple of infants while her husband was absent.

Derek and Reid walked in together and both smiled in delight to see her sitting at the table.

"Hey Em. I'm guessing you aren't coming with us on this one but the question begs to be asked; what _are_ you doing here so late on a Saturday night?"

India rejected the bottle and burped softly as Derek lightly bussed her cheek and Emily set the bottle on the table and started to lift the baby to her shoulder only to see he was offering to take over and she relinquished her daughter with a sigh of relief. Much as she loved her family, she had well and truly reached the point where she wished the day was over so she could go to bed and _sleep_.

"We stopped in on the way back from a very long and very full day at the fair so Aaron could shift some folders that urgently needed to be dealt with. It would have been a quick five minute stop but Strauss accosted us as soon as we arrived. I would have left him here and gone straight home but the girls started screaming for food and since I was trying to avoid a headache, I decided to feed them here before heading off. Jack is asleep on the couch in his dad's office and I shall be leaving in a couple of minutes."

She yawned hugely and rested her head in her hand as she watched Reid awkwardly settle Chloe into his arms. She smiled at how amazed he looked that the baby didn't automatically start screaming. Noise in the doorway pulled her attention away and she whistled softly.

"Looking gorgeous Teresa."

Dave put on an affronted look as Teresa smiled in thanks and twirled. "What about me?"

Emily raked him from head to toe and smiled in feigned indifference. "You'll pass." Catching sight of the couple following, she couldn't help but continue teasing as she raised her voice. "Brad on the other hand is definitely looking yummy."

Brad flushed slightly as he ushered Kelly in before him and Kelly smiled her agreement as she bee-lined to Derek and the baby on his shoulder. It never ceased to amuse her that Brad was just as socially shy as Reid and she was rapidly coming to the conclusion that if it was a choice between her and her daughters, she'd lose every time.

Aaron stepped through the door and looked around. "Right, if we aren't missing anyone, I have a briefing to run so I'll need everyone not on this case to leave now."

Reid and Derek arrived at her side at the same time with the babies and she smiled in amusement as they both tried to hand them over at the same time.

"You do realise I only have two arms, one of which is already going to be full of baby paraphernalia?"

"I'll help," Teresa offered immediately, reaching for the child in Reid's arms. Her left hand was intercepted by Garcia though before it reached her destination.

"Ooh. First its babies and then its sparklies but I am _definitely_ feeling better. Rossi what'd you do, steal the hope diamond?"

Instant distraction and Teresa blushed as everyone gathered around to extend congratulations. Being the centre of attention with a bunch of strangers was nothing new for the former-model-turned-publicist but being the centre of attention of a bunch of people she both liked and admired was something else entirely and not something she was all that comfortable with yet.

Aaron gave them a minute before he started shooing everyone out of the room. Brad pulled Kelly out of the room for their goodbye and everyone else looked everywhere else as Dave and Aaron kissed their ladies goodbye.

Emily and Teresa exited the room with a baby each and Emily's smile grew to encompass Brad as they walked down the hall to her husband's office.

"Brad, would you mind terribly if I imposed on your strong arms to help me get Jack down to the car? I really don't want to wake him if I can help it."

"Hey, I don't have anywhere else to be in a hurry now that I can't take Kelly home and unwrap her so I'm happy to help. I'm curious to know where Carrie and Toby are though."

Emily's smile turned dry. "Carrie is at home and no doubt pulling her hair out by now, poor thing. Toby has a chest infection and considering the mildness of the weather outside, we decided to leave him home today. We thought about outright cancelling the excursion, but Jack has had too many family outings interrupted by cases so we decided to risk it and go crazy while we could. So we left Toby at home whinging to his mother about being left behind and off we went."

"I doubt that would have gone down well," Teresa said sympathetically.

Emily murmured agreement and started settling everything into its proper place in the pram. She rescued Chloe from a very reluctant Teresa and Emily grinned.

"What are you doing tomorrow? I was thinking we should all, that is those of us left behind, get together at my place for lunch. What do you think?"

Teresa and Brad agreed it sounded good so they arranged a time and Emily sent out messages as they waited for the lift. They were still waiting when the team joined them.

"I thought you would have been long gone by now," Derek admitted.

"I'm not sure I even want to deign that with a reply," Emily said with a sniff. "But can I point to the pram and all the gear stacked in it with a raised eyebrow and an implied 'does this look like a quick pack-up job to you mister' thought with a lot of attitude?"

He held up his hands in amused surrender and backed up a couple of steps as everyone around her laughed and her phone beeped at her. She smiled when she saw the message.

"Something tickle your fancy?" Dave asked mildly.

"Mmm; I'm hosting lunch tomorrow and I just got Austin's reply. The girl makes me feel old with her energy and enthusiasm."

Dave's chuckle warmed her as the lift doors opened. She stopped him with a light touch on the arm as Teresa and Brad both stepped back to allow the team to go down first.

"You're still keeping an eye on Aaron for me?" she asked quietly.

"Without a doubt. I'll make sure he's alright and he comes back in one big, sane piece. Trust me; he'll be fine." He kissed her cheek lightly and backed into the lift with his eyes on Teresa, the contact unbroken until the doors closed.

Teresa patted her shoulder gently. "Hotch will be fine Emily. Dave isn't the only one looking out for him and he's getting stronger daily."

Emily smiled as she pushed the button to recall the lift to their floor. "I know all that in theory but it doesn't erase what I've lived with over the past couple of months; I seem to worry regardless. Aaron says I don't need to but since I know he worries about us when he is away, we have agreed to leave that particular conversation alone. Its safer for all concerned."

"That's probably the best thing you can do," Brad agreed.

Several minutes later, she waved to Teresa and Brad as she pulled the car out of the parking lot and headed home. Carrie was thankfully awake to help her get everything inside and they managed to do it in record time. Too tired to worry about baths, she got the children changed and tucked in to bed, put everything away and saying goodnight to Carrie, she slipped into her room and shed her clothes. She may have been too tired to fight the children on bath time, but she wasn't so tired that she didn't feel sticky and grotty from the long day out.

A shower later she fell into bed and tried to ignore the little voice in her head that said that something was going to go wrong just because everything was starting to go right.

New Section

He felt certain, as he finally got his eyes open, that his head would detach itself from his shoulders and just roll away to die in quiet. Surely this pain couldn't continue at this level without either stopping or killing him?

Cold air slipped under the collar of his shirt and sweater and he shivered violently, causing streamers of colour to creep across his vision and forcing his eyes to close as suddenly even the moon seemed too bright in this setting.

He did try to get his eyes open again but when he sensed a sweet darkness rising up to claim him, whispering that the pain would go away if only he surrendered, he didn't hesitate to welcome that black tide in.

End-

**A/N: ****Is it making more sense or have I just caused more confusion? ;)**

**Please review with the conveniently placed link right under these words. I love to know what you think and it makes me type faster. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: ****Exciting news; I'm right on schedule with writing this story so far! :D And we are getting closer to finding out what is going on. **

**Big thanks to Hazmatt for another wonderful review. I never get tired of seeing you have something to say about my work. **

**Rated M for adult themes and other things.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me and I do own Carrie and Toby, Chloe and India. **

Missing – Chapter 3

Flashback

"So what do we know about Jackson Wyoming?" Derek asked as he handed a cup of coffee to Kelly and took a sip of his own.

As one they all turned to Reid and Garcia who were sitting side by side. Garcia looked greener than anyone could ever remember her looking but she shot them a brave smile as she started typing on her laptop.

Reid jumped in before Garcia had finished with her typing. "Jackson is located in the Jackson Hole valley of Teton County and had a population of approximately 8647 in the year 2000. I'm not too sure what the population is now though. It is also the county seat of Teton County."

Garcia continued, "It says here, and I'm quoting, "Jackson is a major gateway for millions of tourists visiting nearby Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and the National Elk Refuge. Jackson is also in proximity to several ski resorts." End quote. The level of tourists about at this time of year is going to make it hard to pinpoint what happened to these kids, isn't it?"

Aaron sighed tiredly as he looked again at the photos depicting a happy, smiling 11-year-old Jessica Simmons and her ten-year-old brother Sampson. "The amount of tourists about combined with the locals will definitely make narrowing the unsub pool difficult. We'll need to hit the ground running and I doubt we'll get to stop until it's over.

"JJ, we need a news conference as soon as we land. We need to let everyone know how serious this is and we need to absolutely flood the networks with these children's images. When a show goes to commercial, I want their faces to leap out at everyone. We need to make sure that if you only watch one tv show a day, you are still going to see these kids. I don't want to miss the one tourist or local who knows something because they were too busy to watch the box for more than half an hour at a time."

JJ nodded and got up to go get started on the calls she needed to make to get the conference ready in time.

"Garcia, you'll be doing your usual searches and such as leads come in. I'm sending Reid to the station with you and he'll prioritise the leads that are coming in but I want you to run down _all_ of them. We don't have time to waste on this. Also, before you do anything else, make sure they have at least a thousand copies of each of the kids' pictures. We want these pictures attached to light poles, trees, in store windows, at tourist centres; anywhere we can think of where people are going to be. Teams of volunteers should be waiting to go if they haven't already been proactive in this.

"Rossi, you and Kelly will go to the Simmons residence and question the parents and the older brother. Get a hold of their entire schedule and start working whatever angle you can see to work that might pull up a lead we can follow. Morgan and I will meet with the local sheriff coordinating this search.

"I don't need to reiterate the urgency of this. The children will have been missing for almost 5 hours by the time we arrive. Its cold at this time of year and there are tourists everywhere that might easily sneak out without anyone batting an eye; we need to see what no one else will."

JJ stumbled slightly as the plane dipped suddenly as she returned from the front. Dave steadied her until she was able to sit.

"Thanks. Right, I've arranged the press conference; it never ceases to amaze me that the national press can get to any one situation so fast but what it boils down to is these kids faces are going to be everywhere across the country by dawn.

"Also, the pilots wanted me to tell all of you to sit down and buckle in; we're about to hit some really rough weather and the storm is too wide to fly around."

Garcia groaned at that, then laughed as everyone handed over their little air-sickness bags to her.

"I swear I'm going to totally wipe off the face of the earth whoever gave me this bug. Honest to God I will." Reid patted her hand comfortingly as everyone quickly found a chair with a seatbelt.

Once everyone was settled in, Aaron added, "I know its hard to rest when the planes' throwing a rock'n'roll party with us in it, but try your hardest to sleep. I doubt we'll have time once we land."

Sleep was almost impossible as the storm raged and boomed around them.

New Section

Emily came awake with a start, her heart pounding and her body drenched in sweat. She closed her eyes again and focused on taking slow deep breaths as she struggled to work out why she was suddenly so scared.

She was just beginning to drift back to sleep, content that it had just been a particularly bad dream when thunder boomed overhead and the screaming started.

"Daddy! Help me! Mummy!"

She threw back the covers as alarm raced through her. It never occurred to her to grab her gun because the house was almost impenetrable. She bolted down the hall, only just avoiding Carrie as she came flying out of her own room almost on top of her. They pelted into the boys room.

Emily hit the light switch even as she made a beeline for Jack. She could see immediately that he was trapped by his blankets, having obviously tossed and turned so badly that he'd completely wrapped himself up. Toby was already there trying to get Jack free. She kissed the top of his head lightly and shooed him back to Carrie. Then she leaned down until she could see her sons' face.

"Jack, open your eyes and look at me. Jack!"

His eyes snapped open and his sobs and screams faded to silent tears. "Mummy?"

"I'm here baby and you're safe, I promise. I need you to stop moving though so I can get you out. Alright?"

He nodded tearfully and went still. She looked at how he was tangled up and quickly removed the bedding around him. The second he was free, he launched his body at her and she caught him up, holding him tight until his shakes subsided. Carrie returned to her side a minute later.

"I just checked on the girls. They slept right through it."

"Good, thanks. Come on baby; you sleep with me tonight since your daddy's away chasing down the bogeyman."

He nodded and sniffled as she stood. "Thanks for your help Toby. You did a really good job."

He smiled with wide, slightly frightened eyes and since Carrie knew her son struggled to sleep on the best of nights, let alone without his best friend/almost brother present after what they'd been through together, she scooped him up.

"My little hero gets to sleep in my bed with me tonight."

"Yay," he said with soft excitement. _Nothing_ was better than sleeping close to mummy.

Emily settled Jack in against her and gently stroked his hair back from his forehead. He was overdue for a haircut and she made a note to book him in for the following weekend.

"Uncle Will's coming over tomorrow for lunch with Henry. Won't that be nice?" she asked him as he gazed at her fearfully, as if at any moment she might disappear.

He nodded agreement and yawned. "Mummy, is Daddy alright? I had a dream that he was in trouble and needed us to rescue him."

She continued to stroke his hair gently, noting that he was getting sleepy again. "I'm sure he's fine baby but we'll call him tomorrow night just to be sure."

"'Kay."

She smiled as he slipped into a contented sleep but the smile quickly slipped away and after a brief hesitation, she picked up the phone and hit the speed-dial for Aaron's mobile. Jack wasn't the only one who was worried all of a sudden.

She listened to it ring until it switched over to his message bank. "Hey babe. It's probably totally unnecessary but could you please call me? Jack woke screaming that you needed to be rescued and I have this really sinking feeling that something is wrong. Call me so we can laugh in the face of my fears together, okay? Love you always."

She hung up slowly, concerned that he hadn't answered. With difficulty, she pushed her fears aside and tucked the blankets closer around the small body snuggled up against her. Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes and coaxed sleep to return to give her strength for the day ahead.

New Section

A wolf howled nearby, causing her to jerk awake with a whimper of fear. The jerking of her body caused a different kind of whimper as pain shot through her and set her nerve endings on fire. She did her best to ignore the sounds around her as more wolves joined in the song. She shivered as the night air caused her breath to fog and closed her eyes as a single tear slid down her cheek. _Kevin, why aren't you here to comfort me now when I need you so much?_

As she slipped back into a fitful sleep, she pressed her hand to her abdomen and prayed.

New Section

She muttered something uncomplimentary as the phone rang. Cracking an eyelid told her it was almost time to get up anyway but that wasn't the point.

Tony reached across her body and picked up the phone to growl "What?" They were neither of them morning people.

After a moment, the phone appeared in front of her face. "Work for you."

She pushed herself up into a sitting position and answered. "This had better be important."

"I'm sorry Chief Strauss but it is. Sheriff Aruyo phoned from Teton County a couple of minutes ago. SSA Hotchner's BAU team was dispatched last night to help find a couple of missing kids."

"I know; I was the one to send them. What about it?"

"They haven't arrived ma'am."

She was silent for a moment as the sleep cleared from her brain and her assistant's words became clear.

"What?"

End-

**A/N: ****Have you figured it out yet?**

**Reid's encyclopaedic knowledge is courtesy of .org and all other statistical facts throughout this story will also come from the same site.**

**Please review with the conveniently placed link right under these words. I love to know what you think and it makes me type faster. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: ****This one is just flowing; it's awesome and I'm loving it.**

**Hazmatt, you are too good at guessing what is going on. Thanks for your delightful review. I hope you like the continued interplay between those left behind.**

**Rated M for adult themes and other things.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me and I do own Carrie and Toby, Chloe and India.**

Missing – Chapter 4

Flashback

A particularly loud booming noise shook everyone out of the light sleep they'd managed to obtain and as the plane dipped alarmingly, they all winced in sympathy to hear Garcia throwing up everything she had in her stomach, which for her was thankfully not that much.

The plane levelled out but they were all extremely worried as they felt how much of a struggle it was for the plane to pull out of the nosedive it was doing.

JJ got up and made her way to the cockpit to see if she could find out what was going on as Reid held Garcia's hair back from her face. When JJ returned a minute later, she was white as a sheet.

"We've been struck by lightening and the engines are failing. All the controls are screwed and they can't get anything more than broken correspondence with anyone. They don't even know if the message got out that we are in trouble. They'll do their best to find somewhere we can put down safely but they said if we get struck a second time there's no guarantee they can keep us from falling out of the sky."

"Does anyone know why we haven't been fried all crispy and black yet by the first strike?" Dave asked as JJ tripped and fell during another drop. He undid his belt and moved to help her back into her seat.

His question remained unanswered and he and JJ were thrown violently down the aisle as the plane dropped again…and kept on going.

New Section

Erin stalked into Director Jack Fickler's office and nodded to his assistant before demanding, "What do we know?"

He gestured the other woman out of the office and once Erin was seated, he wasted no time getting down to business.

"First off, I've sent SSA Cooper's BAU team to Jackson in place of our missing team and before you ask Erin, yes; they are still missing.

"At first the Sheriff thought they might be late due to flying around a couple of really bad storms in the area, but they were due to land a few hours ago and they can't raise either of the pilots so they've ruled that scenario out. The current theories are that they either landed at another airfield due to the weather and have been unable to get the word out due to localised interference or that they've crashed somewhere because the weather made it impossible for them not to."

She was silent as the implications of that sunk in. "Are we following up any and all leads?"

"Yes but unfortunately there isn't much we can do at this stage. I've got a couple of analyst's working out storm patterns and such to trace where they may have diverted if the need arose. I've also sent out an urgent bulletin to all FBI offices between us and Wyoming. Everyone will be keeping an eye out for them and if they have the resources to spare, they'll get teams on searching and ideas for how to find them if they have crashed."

"Can we track the plane's transponder?"

"I'm waiting for a call from the FAA now about what they can tell us of what happened and if the transponder is still transmitting they'll get right on sending rescue teams but it may take them a few hours to piece it all together. You should contact the families of your agents while you wait."

"No, not yet. I don't want to raise an alarm now that may not be necessary if they've simply landed somewhere and aren't able to get the word out. Once we know something definite, then I'll call."

"Fair enough; it's your call at any rate. I have a few calls I need to make on other matters while I wait for the FAA to get back to me. I'll be in contact."

Flashback

It was so hard for her to breathe and the metal piece sticking up through her back was making sleep impossible with every laboured breath she took making the piece move and causing more pain throughout her nervous system.

Worse yet, she couldn't see any of the others from where she lay. She felt so alone and what she wouldn't give to just wake up and find this was all a dream.

_Please_, she prayed.

New Section

"Hey, sorry we're late. I'm not sure we're well enough for this but I am here as ordered."

Emily smiled gently. "JJ mentioned that neither of you were that well. It's part of the reason I _ordered_ you over here. Now I have you in my clutches, Carrie and I will be taking care of both of you. If you followed my orders exactly and packed a bag each, it will go so much easier on everyone but if need be, I'll steal your keys and invade your place for what you'll need for the next few days since I will be putting you in my spare room where I can keep an eye on you until you're well again."

Will smiled tiredly. "I had half a hope that this was indeed your plan so I followed your orders to the letter. And I won't even argue that I need lookin' after."

"A smart man. Totally sexy I gotta say."

He laughed and coughed at the same time and she steadied him as he weaved on his feet. "I'll save you some food for later. For now you can rest assured that everything will be taken care of. Carrie will deal with Henry and he and Toby can commiserate with each other on their unwell status."

"Sold. Sugar, have I told you lately that you're an amazin' woman and I admire your grit and determination?"

"I don't think you've ever told me that but I appreciate the sentiment. This way."

Carrie appeared to take charge of Henry and Emily steered Will's tired, aching body up the stairs and down to the spare room. A minute later, Brad stepped into the room, checked him over and helped him undress and get into bed. Then blessed darkness overwhelmed him and he rested knowing his son was in capable hands.

Brad returned to the kitchen ten minutes later.

"Both Will and Henry have temperatures, but not ones that I'm concerned about. I've given them both their medicine and they are now sleeping soundly. I doubt it's more than just a simple virus."

Emily snorted softly. "The way Will was moaning and groaning as I bullied him up the stairs, you would think he was dying."

"It's the man-cold syndrome," Austin said seriously.

Brad coughed and choked on a bite of his chilli. Once he'd stopped choking, he cleared his throat and repeated incredulously, "Man-cold?"

Austin nodded her head seriously. "If a woman gets a cold, she acknowledges it once, takes her medicine and gets straight back to whatever needs to be done. If a man gets a cold, his whole world grinds to a halt and he has to moan to everyone that he's dying cause to him, that's what it feels like; even if he has exactly what the woman does. Hence, man-cold."

"Is this a popularly accepted explanation of the male cold?" Jordan asked hopefully as she cleaned up a happily full Ben.

"Absolutely."

"Excellent. Next time Derek complains of feeling under the weather I'm going to share that with him and see if it doesn't shut him up, even if just for a couple of minutes. I swear my big, strong he-man is a total wimp when he gets the sniffles."

The girls laughed and Kevin frowned slightly. "I'm trying to figure out if I'm affronted on behalf of the entire male species or if I can't really argue the point."

"Well I can," Brad said. "I don't get to take time off when I'm unwell and I rarely feel like I'm dying unless I've just worked a double shift non-stop."

Teresa sighed sadly. "Kelly scored the last truly special male specimen left."

Laughter and agreement followed this announcement as Brad blushed, as did the stories of colds the girls had weathered with their guys as the chilli turned to dessert and a luxuriant chocolate cake Carrie had whipped up that morning. She was still serving when the phone rang.

Emily shifted Chloe to her shoulder, glad that she'd just finished burping the child and had a hand free and picked up the phone.

"Hotchner residence," she said, trying not to laugh outright as Austin spoke of a weekend where Reid was particularly pathetic in his weakness.

"Agent Hotchner, this is Chief Strauss."

Emily blinked in surprise and felt the faint chill she'd woken with become a cold hard lump in her stomach.

"Something's happened to Aaron, hasn't it?"

"I'm afraid something has happened to the whole team."

End-

**A/N: And there you have it folks. The flashbacks may continue for another chapter but they may not so stay tuned to that. Things will be linear again shortly.**

**Reid's encyclopaedic knowledge is courtesy of .org and all other statistical facts throughout this story will also come from the same site.**

**Please review with the conveniently placed link right under these words. I love to know what you think and it makes me type faster. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: ****Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter out. My favourite author put out a new book but I had to finish the one I was already reading first and then I got hooked on a couple of fanfictions I tripped across by accident (I totally recommend The Hangover by crazygal27 and Breathe Again by x-MJ-x – two totally amazing fics).**

**I have several people to thank for reviews over the last week. ellesbelles2009 just yesterday reviewed NPH 2; your one-word review is greatly appreciated. **** Many thanks to HPforever-after for reviewing Scream and saying such nice things about it and thanks to calzonaobessed for also reviewing Scream and seeming to like it so much. NicknHotchfan and Hazmatt who have both reviewed Missing Ch 4 get kudos for amazing encouragement and picking my secretive little bits correctly.**

**Rated M for adult themes and other things.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me and I do own Carrie and Toby, Chloe and India. **

Missing – Chapter 5

"I'm afraid something has happened to the whole team."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Will you hold on a moment please ma'am?"

She turned a meaningful look on Carrie and nodded to the child in her arms and to Jack and Toby. God bless a smart woman because she picked up immediately on what was needed.

"Right then. Boys, now that both Chloe and India have been fed and burped, why don't you help me get them settled back upstairs and then you can come back down with me and we'll eat our dessert."

The boys were eager to do just that, carrying the babies just as they'd been taught while Carrie watched them closely. She also coaxed Jordan into letting her take Ben upstairs with her and she didn't argue too much, having spotted the look on Emily's face. As soon as they were out of the room, Emily pressed the button to put the call on speaker and placed it in the middle of the table.

"Ma'am, you are on speaker and you have everyone here who is the significant other of the team going to Jackson except Will but he's nearby resting so we'll pass on any information he needs to know."

"That is fortuitous. As near as we can tell, the jet carrying the team to Jackson, Wyoming entered an incredibly dense storm system spanning approximately 7 states about an hour from takeoff. Within minutes of entering the storm system, they ceased to show up on radar and some minutes later broadcast a mayday that was cut off before it could even be ascertained what was wrong. Despite hours of searching thus far, authorities across the area they may have gone down in have been unable to locate either the plane or the team."

Jordan took a slow deep breath in and blew it out as she fought panic. The rest of the group appeared to be holding its breath. Kevin was the first to speak.

"What methods are they searching by?"

"Everything they can think of short of using choppers or search planes. Unfortunately, this storm cell continues to hover and the weather stations are saying its going to continue to stay in the area for possibly the next week. Even more unfortunate is the knowledge that there are three planes missing because of this storm, thus stretching local emergency resources thin as they attempt to search and respond to other emergency calls. No one wants to risk further rescue personnel until they know the storm is no longer a danger to aircraft. All domestic and military flights within the storms' parameters have also been cancelled."

"So we just _wait?_" Teresa asked incredulously. Austin reached out and took her hand as they exchanged a panicked look.

"Knowing all of you? Not at all; we simply can't fly you into the area.

"TA Lynch, I've forward all the information and data I was given. Knowing you are more likely to be smarter than them and have access to different information, I'll get you to go over the information we have and see if what you come up with jibes with what we've been told."

"Sure thing." He got to his feet and left the room to get his laptop from his car.

"Once TA Lynch is done we'll fly you as close as we can get you to wherever he comes up with short of flying you all into the danger areas and you can all help out the searching. I've mobilised office resources across the country and while they can't spare a lot, the FBI as a whole will do what it can to find our own and bring them home safely.

"Now, I have another call coming in that I have to take. Give me a call once you have something more or else just come in to the office and we'll take it from there." With that said, the line went dead.

Austin started to cry softly and Teresa wasn't much better off as she attempted to comfort the younger woman with soft words. The rest sat in silence as the enormity of what had happened started to really sink it.

Flashback

Dislocated shoulders were a bitch, he decided as he stumbled over a piece of twisted metal and fell to his knees, unable to use his arms to brace his fall. The jolt sent pain shooting out from his shoulder and from the ribs he was pretty certain were broken. He waited until the pain had eased back before he made a clumsy attempt to stand. He could hear moaning coming from the direction he was headed and hoped he would find everyone else. Waking up alone as the dawn light filtered through the trees, he'd hoped for only an instant that the plane crash had been nothing more than a dream before the pain encroached on his thoughts and he woke with his back on fire from the way the chair had landed.

He didn't know how long it had taken him to unbend his back and find his feet, he only knew it had taken a lot more effort than was comfortable. He'd stood swaying on his feet for a few minutes as the pain receded slightly, his heart stopped beating so erratically and the sweat had dried uncomfortably on his chilled skin. Looking around, he hadn't seen anyone so he'd made his slow way through the wreckage until he started hearing voices on the wind.

Now he rounded a large piece of seemingly intact plane wall to find the owners of the voices. One looked at him from flat on her back on the floor of the plane, a surprisingly undisturbed piece of floor and the other from where he sat against the wall, looking distinctly green. He didn't need to ask why as he noted the two places where bone had broken the surface of his right leg.

If the condition of the two of them was any indication and coupled with his own uncertain injuries, they were all completely screwed.

Flashback

"Doctor Harper, we need you stat!"

Sarah Harper sighed with exasperation as her husband stopped in the process of kissing her and smiled slightly.

"Duty calls sweetheart," he said gently as he tucked strands of her silky hair behind her equally silky ear and smiled. He kissed her temple and murmured softly, "Hold that thought for tonight."

She smiled sweetly up at him and with a last quick kiss goodbye she shifted her hands off his hips and stepped back. He felt her loss immediately but turned away as Sharleen called to him again. He sighed and jogged in the direction of the front of the emergency entrance to the hospital he'd worked in for the last 5 years.

"What have we got?"

"Early morning hikers found a man who had obviously taken an unscheduled swim in the Arkansas River and immediately called emergency services once they realised he was somehow still alive. The ambulance will be here in 2 minutes and they've already radioed ahead to say he's in a critical condition."

"Do we know who he is?"

"No; they're calling him John Doe. Police will be here a bit later to snap his mug and get it out across the state. He looked like he was hiking himself when he must have fallen in somehow and been swept downriver. We don't as yet know how long he was in the river either, just that he's hypothermic and they can't revive him."

He nodded as he accepted the gown and gloves she handed him as they waited for the ambulance they could now hear coming closer at a fast rate. Seconds later, the ambulance screeched to a halt and the paramedics appeared as the doors opened.

He listened intently to what they had to say and grimaced. He would not only be fighting hypothermia but also wet lungs and what could be heavy internal bleeding caused by extensive bruising across his entire body. He shifted the blanket out of the way and grimaced again. It also appeared that his left wrist was broken.

"What'd he do; go white-water rafting without the raft? Let's get him in to Trauma and start warming him up and drying him out."

New Section

Things happened extremely quickly after the phone call from Strauss. Carrie returned with the boys and Ben to see Austin crying and after taking one look at his mother, Jack had burst into tears also and wailed that he knew something was wrong with daddy. Emily spent a good ten minutes calming him down as she gently explained that they didn't know anything just yet but that the plane was missing. Austin excused herself to calm down where she wouldn't continue to stress out the boys and Brad left to wake Will and break the news to him that his wife was also missing.

Kevin returned with his laptop and immediately immersed himself in trying to interpret the data he'd received and return a definitive location for them to search. Brad returned from waking Will and immediately called the hospital and put the word out that he needed friends within the system to call hospitals they had contact with in the states affected by the storm. The woman he spoke with assured him she knew just who to speak to and if anything turned up on Kelly or any of the other agents, she'd be in contact immediately. He told her to pass out his pager number to anyone who might be able to help and signed off. Then Teresa got on the phone and did the same with her publishing contacts.

Emily finally got everyone calmed down and thinking clearly. Only Will had enough stuff here for a few days for both him and Henry. They would all need to return home to pack a bag and no one knew quite how long they would be gone.

As Kevin started to narrow down where the plane may have ended up, Carrie offered her services in looking after all the children while their parents were gone thus freeing everyone up to do what was needing to bring the missing home. This plan was well received, but foiled just slightly by Ben still being breast-fed and therefore needing to stay with his mother and by the fact that Jack became hysterical at the thought of being left behind. Toby wanted to go as well but was convinced to stay by his mother who would still be looking after Chloe, India and Henry and would need his help.

Within an hour, Kevin had narrowed it down to two states to search and most of the group had left to pack. She changed out her Summer clothing from her go-bag and filled it with warmer clothing better suited to cold, wet and snowy regions. A bag was quickly packed for Jack and as soon as they'd given last-minute instructions to Carrie about care, she loaded Will and Jack into the car and they were making their way to Quantico, where they would meet up with the others for instructions before heading out on what they hoped was a successful rescue mission.

End-

**A/N:**** Please review with the conveniently placed link right under these words. I love to know what you think and it makes me type faster and update quicker. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: ****Having spent a fair amount of time jumping back and forth from the past to the present, I have decided I have strung you all along for long enough. This chapter will be entirely dedicated to you finding out who is who and who is missing from the plane and therefore it will all be in flashback mode.**

**I have just one person to thank for reviewing chapter 5 and that is HPforever-after; your reviews are always short and sweet but I always appreciate them greatly. Thanks ever so much for brightening up my day. **

**Rated M for adult themes and other things.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me and I do own Carrie and Toby, Chloe and India. **

Missing – Chapter 6

Aaron Hotchner knew he'd been in bad situations before. He'd been shot at, stabbed multiple times, had his ex-wife murdered while he listened and nearly lost his current wife three times to circumstances beyond his control. In addition, he'd nearly lost his son and in the process had completely lost his sanity. In short, the last five years of his life hadn't been easy ones.

And now there was this to contend with.

He knew he was hurt, and badly so. The dappled sunlight shouldn't be as bright as it was and he could feel a slow, steady build-up of pressure inside his skull that told him that the concussion he had was the least of his worries. He also couldn't see clearly when he actually managed to get his eyes open and everything had at least three shadows to it instead of just the one solid layer he would normally see.

He touched the mechanism for the seatbelt; he'd been surprised to find he was still in the seat and that it was intact and now he was even more surprised when the belt actually clicked open as soon as he touched it.

He slowly manoeuvred his way to his feet and then waited while the world spun in dizzying circles around him before settling back into what he supposed was going to be the norm for him for the next little while. He could see the bulk of the wreckage when he turned to his right so he made his slow careful way forward, making sure of his footing before moving ahead. He didn't know how long he weaved around debris before he stumbled on a pipe and all but fell into the section he'd been aiming for. Pain exploded through his head as he realised he'd landed on a pair of legs and the darkness came back to claim him.

New Section

Derek blinked in shock to see his unit chief suddenly appear and fall unconscious across his legs. Despite their obvious fear and pain, both Kelly and Penelope giggled, probably at the look on his face and even Reid was fighting a smile through his perpetual grimace.

"You want some help moving him?" Penelope asked as her laughter faded.

Derek shot her a look and drawled sarcastically, "Noooooo; he's not heavy at all, really."

She tsked at him and helped him use his good arm to turn their leader over and check him for injuries.

"It looks like the worst of the damage is to his head. I'm not a doctor, but I don't like how his pupils are looking. I think it's really serious."

"Does he have his phone on him?" Kelly asked as she stared at the light playing across the ceiling above her stationary position. Her back was flat to the floor and everything from her waist down was severely pinned by a twisted hulk of chairs and fuselage. She'd long since lost feeling in her legs but it didn't stop her from hurting from the multiple cuts and bruises she'd obviously sustained in other parts of her body.

Penelope checked and pulled out a phone that was just as useless as all the others. "It must be the region we're in; there's no cell service at all."

"But we could still call 9-1-1 though," Reid insisted from where he sat beside Kelly, his leg straight out in front of him and now braced as best as she could manage it under the circumstances. Trying to strap straight pieces of _anything_ with bones breaking through skin in two places had been no easy feat but she'd somehow managed it. Now she sighed slightly in exasperation.

"Fine, I'll give it a go but I doubt it'll work."

She was just about to dial when a faint voice filtered through to them.

"Hello? Is anyone out there?"

They all exchanged looks. "Sounds like the missing little mama just woke up. I'll go see if I can figure out where she is and bring her here."

Derek nodded as Hotch groaned softly. "Good idea sweetness. See if you can find us some of the bottled water I know we always carry as well."

She saluted sloppily and carefully picked her way to the other end of the sheltering section they were in. As another faint pain slid through her abdomen, she whispered a soft prayer to any and all deities known to man that nothing would come of the intermittent pains she was suffering from.

She moved around a tree blocking her way, still following the faint calls she could hear and found another smaller section of the fuselage resting precariously on a ledge overlooking a drop. She swallowed as she reached the edge of the ledge and looked over to see a more than 100 foot drop below to a small creek. Even if she couldn't find bottled water, perhaps if they could get a fire going they could boil some water if they could figure out a safe way down the rocky face she could see.

She backed away slowly and poked her head into the section of plane as another call alerted her to arriving at her destination.

"Oh no Jayje."

New Section

"Has there been any change in his condition over the last hour?"

"No doctor and the CT scan of his head revealed a fairly large contusion at the back of his skull which may explain his coma."

"Let's see the films?"

Greg Harper sighed tiredly as he studied the film on the lighted boards in front of him. His shift was only a few hours old and it was already shaping up to be a doozy.

"What about his core temperature and the internal bleeding?"

"His temp is holding steady right where we want it but he's still bleeding and his hearts' beginning to develop a murmur."

"Damn; has a cardiologist been called to come down and look at that?"

"Yes, but it may be a few hours before they can attend as they are dealing with an extremely tricky surgery and two of their doctors are off sick. They asked that we keep him as stable as possible and someone will be down as soon as they can manage it. Alternatively if he starts to drop alarmingly they'll do their best to get down here sooner."

Greg snorted and muttered that sooner was better than later where the heart was concerned. "And there's been no hits on his photo? We still don't know who he is?"

"Michaela found an extremely water-logged pass that might be FBI-issue in his pants pocket. They are trying to dry it out enough to be sure before they contact the office in Denver to see if they are missing anyone. No drivers licence though and no distinguishing marks or tattoos we can run through the database."

"Right then, let's check our John Doe into an ICU bed and go see how the lab is going with that pass. The sooner we can figure out who he is, the sooner we can find out what he was doing in the middle of nowhere."

New Section

Penelope carefully inched her way into the section where she'd found the teams' media liaison and waited to see if it would cause the section to go over the edge. Nothing happened beyond a groaning of the metal settling under her feet, so she moved cautiously forward, pausing often to make sure she wasn't about to send them both over the edge.

Now certain that the section appeared stable enough, she knelt down beside JJ as tears slid down her cheeks. When she was close enough, JJ lifted a hand weakly and wiped away a couple of her tears.

"Please don't cry PG; if you cry then I'll cry and then I'll get short of breath which will make me move more to get more air and then it will hurt worse which will make me cry harder and the whole vicious cycle will be unstoppable until I cry myself to death. It'll be stupid, yet tragic and I really don't want to die so ingloriously."

Penelope sniffled slightly and said softly, "Do you realise how morbid you sound right now?"

JJ gestured to the twisted piece of metal intersecting her upper midsection. "Don't you think you'd be a little morbid if you were in this situation? I mean I'm lodged on metal, I don't know where anyone else is and I could be wrong because I'm really not sure but I think I'm pregnant and now I'm stuck here, on this metal, far away from Will and Henry and I miss my family…"

She was suddenly crying nearly hysterically and Penelope sat down all the way and gently stroked her hair back from her brow as she murmured softly to her, trying to calm her down and trying not to cry again herself as she saw the blood that was beginning to come out around the piece of metal sticking about a foot and a half out of her. Her 'little sister' was well and truly lodged and not going anywhere and she was suddenly scared that this was it and she was going to lose parts of her so-precious 'family'.

When the sobs had decreased to an occasional tear, Penelope leaned forward and said, "Strauss is going to blow a gasket."

With a last sniffle, JJ looked up at her curiously. "What makes you say that?"

Penelope smiled slightly. "Well, we seem to continue to have bad luck in keeping everyone in one piece. Apart from Rossi, who is MIA, everyone else is in the other section of plane and I appear to be the only one steady on my feet. Kelly is pinned under chairs and plane, boy genius has an extremely badly broken leg, my chocolate Adonis has a dislocated shoulder and broken ribs and Hotch has a really, really bad-see somewhat potential for fatal-head injury. Add to that the fact that I _am_ pregnant and then if you are too, Strauss is going to blow a gasket."

JJ smiled faintly. "Oh dear. Maybe we should all just disappear now while we're all still alive and in somewhat one piece."

They exchanged a look before dissolving into a fit of giggles just as Derek poked his head in the opening.

"Hey did I hear you correctly when you said you're both pre…oh shit," he said with real feeling as he took in JJ's situation.

She smiled sadly and said dryly, "Welcome to my world."

End-

**A/N:**** Please review with the conveniently placed link right under these words. I love to know what you think and it makes me type faster and update quicker. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: ****I still have a little more to write in flashback in order to catch the plane crash up with what is happening on the rescue side of things so this chapter is again dedicated entirely to the past.**

**I have two people to thank for reviewing chapter 6 and the first is blackandblueangel; I wasn't going to start writing this chapter because I didn't have any feedback on the last chapter when I first woke up this morning but then I checked my emails again (I'm a bit obsessive in this area) and there your review sat, making me want to write again. Thanks for your encouragement and for making me smile. **** I would also like to thank HPforever-after for another encouraging review that also made me smile.**

**Rated M for adult themes and other things.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me and I do own Carrie and Toby, Chloe and India. **

Missing – Chapter 7

"I'm not so sure this is a good idea," Penelope said again anxiously as she supported JJ's right-hand side as they slowly shuffled across the space between the section she'd been in and the main section where everyone was gathered. Her anxiety came from the increasingly laboured breaths JJ was taking and the fact that the blood seeping out around the metal piercing her body had increased over the last minute.

"I know baby girl but we can't move the plane section she was in and that ledge looked like it was going to crumble away at any moment. Add to that Reid mentioned two different types of bear roam this area in addition to lynxes, coyotes and wolves and we decided we wanted everyone together in case something comes calling."

"Hey, I can…deal with a…little…breath…less…ness for…safety."

"We'll get you down and settled shortly I promise Jayje, its just another couple of feet."

She nodded and concentrated on not passing out from the pain and lack of oxygen in her system. She hadn't been keen on Derek's plan to move her at all once he noticed that the metal piercing her body wasn't attached to anything but her. Then he mentioned the ledge under her and the drop below that and suddenly they couldn't talk her into staying. And having grown up in woods she knew she also didn't want to be on her own and unarmed if any of the local wildlife came calling. So move she would and then she could rest surrounded by friends and hopefully not dying before Will came to rescue her.

"Pick your feet up a touch here darlin'," Derek urged softly and she did that with a lot of difficulty but then she was in out of the cold and she could see…

"Ouch…I thought I…was badly…off but Reid…"

"Hey at least I'm stationary at the moment unlike some of us," he teased gently to cover his worry as he took in her overall condition.

Derek tightened his grip on JJ's arm as she swayed and watched Penelope moved a couple of things around. Then she came back to help ease the younger blonde down onto the slightly raised and padded section of floor they'd chosen for her. They watched closely as JJ eased back with a soft sigh of relief.

"Is that alright? Its not putting extra pressure on the metal is it?"

JJ smiled tightly as she opened her eyes. "No…its fine. Thanks."

Derek grinned naughtily as he resumed his seat against the wall of the plane. "The girls think Strauss will blow a gasket over this."

"She most likely will. She told me when I returned to work the other week that I wasn't allowed any more time off for the next two years and then some. This isn't going to go down well at all."

"Hotch, are you alright?"

He forced his eyes open, realised his vision had gotten worse and so closed his eyes again as nausea threatened to increase his discomfort exponentially. "Not really. Reid informed me Penelope noticed I have a lot of swelling going on at the back of my head and I am really struggling to stay awake and focused."

"Would telling you I might need maternity leave in a few months do anything to keep you awake?"

"Are you pregnant again?" Reid asked in a slightly squeaky voice.

"I haven't confirmed anything yet, but I'm late and having cravings I only had while pregnant with Henry so its highly likely."

"And if I mentioned I am definitely pregnant and therefore definitely need maternity leave, would that also help?"

Hotch groaned softly. "The paperwork increases. Do either of you know how much trouble I had replacing Emily for the duration of her leave? Now you want me to have to replace the both of you at the same time…" he groaned again and muttered something uncomplimentary under his breath as everyone else extended their congratulations to the girls.

"If it helps at all, I'm sure Kevin would be happy to step into my place for most of my leave," Penelope said, relenting just slightly at the pained look on her boss's face.

He held up two fingers held just slightly apart and everyone laughed at that.

New Section

"Hey Lenny, what's cracking?"

"Oh, hey Doc; didn't see you walk in."

"I have my ways. I hear you're working on an extremely water-logged badge that may be FBI issue?"

"I may be. I hear its attached to a real live J.D. Is that true?"

"We do have a John Doe in ICU. Got pulled out of the river first thing this morning. He's a mess for sure. Can we say he's definitely FBI?"

"I'm pretty happy with that assessment. I can't clear up the ID number on the pass but it is definitely FBI issue."

"Excellent. I'll call the Denver office and let them know we have one of their own here. Someone must be missing him by now so we should hopefully know who he is by the end of my shift. Thanks Lenny, you've done a great job."

"No worries; feel free to send me anything weird like this you might come across. I always love a good mystery."

Greg clapped him on the shoulder and walked out with the badge in hand. It was all but ruined but he to could clearly see FBI faded and running with ink near the top of the card. He made his way down to his office and looked up the number he needed. Before long, he was waiting on hold while he was connected with someone more senior than the security officer at reception.

He reviewed his diary while he waited and noting that he had a solid 24 hours off next weekend, resolved to make plans to spend the day with Sarah. He'd just finished making a note to himself when the music stopped and a lightly accented voice filled his ear.

"This is Special Agent Krishna. How may I help you?"

He set down his pen and picked up the pass. "My name is Greg Harper and I'm a doctor in the emergency room at St. Mary-Corwin Medical Centre in Pueblo. This morning I treated a John Doe with an FBI badge in his pocket. No ID or licence, just the badge and the number on it is too ruined for me to read. We'd obviously like to know who it is we are treating and thought to check if you are missing any agents."

There was a momentary silence while he listened to paper rustling and then the agent was back on the line.

"There are currently seven agents missing and all of them are from out of Virginia. They think their plane may have crash-landed somewhere due to the storm. Three of the agents are female so they obviously aren't right. Can you describe your John Doe?"

"I'd say he's in his 50's or 60's, fit, with black hair and a genial goatee. One of the nurses says he could be Italian but we have no real way to be sure."

"Sounds like Senior SSA David Rossi. Can you tell me what happened?"

"He was found by hikers early this morning on the edge of the Arkansas River on the outskirts of the city. We don't know how long he was in the river or even where he entered it. We thought he may have gone through the rapids upriver but now that you've mentioned their plane crashing, the majority of his injuries could also be consistent with that crash.

"At any rate, his prognosis isn't positive. He has a contusion at the back of his head that is causing the coma he is in. He's still bleeding internally though that is thankfully beginning to slow to a stop but he's also developed a heart murmur that is continuing to grow erratically and we are concerned that this may indicate a more serious underlying condition. In addition, his lungs aren't drying out properly and this is impeding the level of oxygen in his bloodstream, which may start to affect his brain function and definitely isn't doing him any favours."

"Damn. I'll alert head office to this and get them to contact his next of kin. I'll also contact the local authorities and impress on them the urgency of finding the rest of his team, particularly if his condition is an indication of theirs. Is the hospital able to fully treat all of his injuries?"

"We are, however I'll understand if his family would prefer to move him back to Virginia, though I wouldn't recommend it in his current weakened state."

"As far as I know, the next of kin of this entire team are all on their way out here to search for them. At least now I can narrow their search area further. I'll give you my direct number and if you wouldn't mind keeping me up-to-date on his condition until they arrive I would greatly appreciate it. I'll also see about getting his medical file sent through to you asap."

"Not a problem." He took the number and signed off before returning to the room that housed their now-named mystery man.

"Michaela, we now have a name to put to our John Doe and you were right about him being Italian. His name is David Rossi and he is from the FBI."

"No way! You're kidding me?"

"Hey, no need to get so excited over picking his ancestry."

"No, no no; that's not it at all. David Rossi is a famous author and also a lecturer. You know my husband is studying Criminology right? Well I went to one of his lectures over a year ago; that's probably why I thought he was familiar. It was just too long ago for me to be sure and I was pregnant at the time and most of my memories of that period are an extreme blur."

"Incredible," Greg murmured softly as he checked his patient over. He grimaced at the picture that came back to him. "Call Cardiology again; tell them we have an FBI agent in a declining state and we need someone to come and look at him, preferably before he has a heart attack."

"Yes doctor."

New Section

"I'm hungry," Penelope said softly from where she rested with her head on Derek's thigh. His hand was strangely comforting as it gently combed through her hair while he sat with his eyes closed and his dislocated arm held in close to his chest by a strip of fabric they'd found.

JJ nodded. "Despite my pain, I'm hungry too. I'm craving pickled beets right now."

Kelly screwed her nose up. "You must be pregnant for sure. I can't think of anything more disgusting than pickled beets."

JJ poked her tongue out at her and challenged, "Well what would you have if you could have your pick of _anything_ in the world right now."

"That's easy; Brad's fish and soy dumplings. Yuuuuuummy!"

Penelope yawned. "I'm craving a cheeseburger with extra pickles at the moment. Anyone else while we are placing an order?"

"Would it be weird if I said I was craving a really big bowl of chocolate ice-cream?"

"Childhood favourite kid?"

Reid nodded and closed his eyes. "Whenever I was scared as a kid, mum and I would sneak into the kitchen and raid the extra-large tub of chocolate ice-cream she always kept in the freezer for just this moment. I always felt better afterwards."

"You know, Jordan can't really cook but she makes a really mean peanut butter cookie and right now I could happily sit here and eat an entire batch of those cookies while snuggling with Ben in front of early morning cartoons."

Aaron grinned slightly. "Little early for the cartoons, isn't it? Ben's barely six months old."

Derek shot him a shocked look despite his eyes being closed. "You're kidding right? You're telling me you seriously didn't use Jack as an excuse to get away with watching cartoons when he was a baby and you weren't at work?"

He shrugged and winced at the movement. "I don't recall ever having enough time or even the inclination to do something like that."

"Man, you're seriously weird."

"Probably."

Reid interrupted the argument before it could fully get off the ground. "What about you Hotch; what are you craving?"

"Emily's chilli. That woman has a serious way with Mexican food and her chilli is the best."

JJ and Penelope nodded agreement of this fact and Penelope smacked her lips together with a happy little humming sound. "I can safely say I haven't had better chilli anywhere after trying Em's and that includes the local Mexican establishment Kevin and I tried once. She's seriously good." She sighed softly. "And now I'm even hungrier. Any chance any of you are hiding some food?"

When it was clearly obvious that no food was forthcoming, Reid attempted to distract Penelope by asking about the phone again.

She cracked her eye open slightly and glared at him. "You aren't going to leave it alone until I attempt to call and _fail_, aren't you?"

He shrugged. "Its worth a try and if I'm right, then I can say 'I told you so' and _I_ might feel a little better. If I'm not right, vice-versa."

She growled her frustration as she slowly sat up. She'd learnt her lesson a week ago when sitting up too suddenly had caused her to pass out for about an hour at home. She pulled out the phone and dialled.

"This is going to fail," she declared as she listened to the near-silent crackling of the phone; right before a ring tone sounded and then a voice answered, "9-1-1 emergency."

End-

**A/N:**** Please review with the conveniently placed link right under these words. I love to know what you think and it makes me type faster and update quicker. **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Yay! We are now all up to date so there will be no more flashbacks; it's all happening in the now.**

**I know, I'm a terrible author. I should have had this chapter out well and truly weeks ago, not to mention actually finished this instalment of NPH but I have been sicker than sick these past two weeks and the amount of working brain cells floating around could be counted on one hand. It's been horrible. Thank you to all of you waiting patiently for this chapter; I hope it meets any and all expectations.**

**Very excited about reviews and about being able to thank my reviewers for leaving encouragements and words to make me smile and since there are so many this time around, I won't be able to thank everyone as individually as I'd like. Thanks this chapter for Missing goes out to Jamnut; miaa29 (hope you had an amazing vacation), Daisyangel (for reviews on NPH 1, 2, 3 & 4), Hazmatt, PenAndInkPrincess (for a review on NPH 1), HPforever-after, babygurl0506 (for reviews on NPH 13 & 14 as well as this one) and riverlover. I love all of you heaps and your words have been so encouraging to me, particularly while I have been so unwell so thank you all so much. This is all for you. **

**Rated M for adult themes and other things.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me and I do own Carrie and Toby, Chloe and India. **

Missing – Chapter 8

"9-1-1 emergency."

Penelope felt like her eyes were trying to jump out of her head. She opened her mouth to say something but found she had no voice. The woman at the other end of the line sounded concerned at her continued silence.

"You've phoned 9-1-1; what is the nature of your emergency?"

Despite clearing her throat, her voice came out husky as she replied, "Uh, my name is Penelope Lynch and I'm with the FBI. Our, uh, our plane crash landed somewhere in the middle of nowhere."

"Are you TA Penelope Lynch?"

"Yes I am. How'd you know?"

"An all-points bulletin was sent out when your team was declared officially missing and we automatically get a copy in case a call is received regarding your whereabouts. Are you alone ma'am?"

She caught sight of Reid mouthing 'I told you so' and just smiled slightly. She might be annoyed with him later for being right _and_ smug about it, but just now she was too relieved to care.

"No, I'm not alone. The only person of our team who is missing is SSA David Rossi. None of us know where he is."

"That's alright ma'am. We've already been alerted to the whereabouts of SSA Rossi, so right now I'm more interested in all of you. Do you have any idea at all of where you are?"

"No. Everything's been fried and made crispy and both of the pilots are dead." She fought down a slight sob as she passed on the discovery Derek had made after they had moved JJ.

"That's alright; we're attempting to trace the location of this call but are having difficulty because you aren't using any one cell provider. If you can stay on the line, we'll get there in the end."

She quickly checked the battery power and smiled slightly to notice it was almost full. "The phone should last awhile."

"Excellent. How about we discuss who's injured and how?"

New Section

Emily shifted anxiously as the lift stopped at yet another floor on their way up to the executive floor of the BAU. They only wanted the one floor as they'd all met up in the lobby at the same time and had more than adequately filled the lift with no room for anyone else. Then Will's swaying had turned into full out loss of balance and he'd fallen against the lift panel. The result was that this lift was going to stop at every floor on the way to the top.

Will shot her another apologetic look and though she felt badly about not reassuring him that it was fine, she couldn't find her way past her all-consuming fear and panic that if Aaron wasn't already dead, he soon would be. It was just something she couldn't let go of.

They finally reached the right floor, only to be met by finely-controlled chaos. The energy of everyone was infectious but more than that, there was a joy about the room. Spotting Anderson, Emily called out to him and he turned in their direction with a grin.

"You all have excellent timing. Any earlier and we may not have had news for you."

"It's good news though?" Will asked anxiously as Brad propped him up.

"We know they are all alive, though some are more injured than others. Come with me; Chief Strauss wants to update you herself."

They didn't wait for Anderson and everyone between them and their boss's office quickly got out of the way as they saw them coming. They didn't quite bust down the door, but it was a close thing.

She simply raised an eyebrow at them as she took off her glasses. "From the looks on your faces I'm guessing you ran into Anderson. Don't bother taking seats, we'll be leaving in about 15 minutes to make the airport for the flight I have booked for you all."

"Is daddy alright?" Jack asked anxiously as he leaned against Emily and peered around Austin.

She shot a querying look at Emily who shrugged slightly and looked at her hopefully as Austin shifted out of the way. She looked back at Jack and said gently, "Your dad has a serious concussion but he is alive. They are all alive. We just aren't too sure of exactly where they are."

"What do you mean by that?" Brad asked with a frown. "How can you know they are alive but not know where they are alive at?"

"The call that came in to the national emergency number did not pick up a tower. It turns out that you can call 9-1-1 as long as your battery has life in it regardless of whether you have cell service and you can even use a cell service that is not your regular one. That's what they are doing as we speak but they are having trouble triangulating the signal because it appears to be all over the place and nowhere at the same time."

"Are they using Penelope's phone?" Kevin asked.

"No, they are using Agent Hotchner's. Now, we'll be flying wide around the storm and coming in to land at Santa Fe, where we will be picking up our vehicles and driving up to Pueblo, in Colorado."

"Is that close to where they are?" Emily asked.

"We are assuming so, as Agent Rossi washed up in the river near there."

Teresa looked at her sharply, the abrupt movements she was making as she twisted her engagement ring round and round on her finger coming to a halt.

"You said they're all alive but the way you just said that about Dave doesn't sound so positive."

"I won't lie to you Ms Montgomery; he is in an extremely critical condition. I'm just waiting for the last of the faxed reports and then I'll give you the rundown on his condition. We'll leave you at the hospital in Pueblo and go on to join the search teams if the rest of our own remain unfound."

"Can we talk with our spouses if we link up to the call with emergency services?" Kevin asked.

"You would know more than I if that were a possibility Mr Lynch. Keep in mind though that we will be on the move shortly but if it is a possibility, I'm sure it will comfort them and give you the added impetus you need to find them while they are alive."

Jack whimpered slightly at this announcement and Emily shot her a reproving look as she crouched down to hug him tight. "Hey baby, don't worry about daddy; he's really strong."

Kevin leaned down beside her and nodded. "Yes he is and pretty soon you'll get to talk to him for a minute. Would you like that?"

Jack nodded solemnly as he clung to Emily. She mouthed a thank you at Kevin and straightened up with Jack wrapped around her. They followed Kevin out of the office and down to Aaron's, volunteered by Emily because it was the largest and they could shut the door for privacy. She passed on their location to Anderson and he agreed to tell Strauss where they were when they were ready to go.

Kevin booted up the computer and logged himself into it, typed for a minute and picking up the phone, dialled a number and waited.

New Section

Penelope watched as Reid took Kelly's pulse through her wrist, the only pulse point he could reach. Her emergency contact, whose name was Jackie, had asked her if she could wait a moment. While waiting, they'd all noticed that Kelly was beginning to shake uncontrollably and she was struggling to stay awake.

"Her pulse is really weak and thready."

"JJ and Hotch aren't doing so well either," Derek murmured softly.

The three of them exchanged concerned looks as with a decisive click there was noise in her ear again.

"Hey there techno beauty; I need a little help with your location before I rescue you."

She whispered, "Kevin?"

"In the flesh precious."

"Oh god, oh god, oh god! Oh, are you alone?"

"No, everyone's here and we all want to say hello. I was just first because you were the one at the end of the line."

"Much as I don't want to share this call right now, Brad, Emily and Will need to speak to their significant others first."

"Oh..._oh_. That's not good. Um, who first?"

"Maybe if we can put the calls on speaker, everyone could talk at the same time?"

"This is why you're the brains _and_ the beauty of this relationship."

She smiled slightly as she pressed the button for the speaker feature on her boss's phone and held the phone out in the general location of the middle of the group. There was a momentary silence before noises filtered through on both sides of the call. Then Jack's voice asked anxiously, "Can daddy hear me yet?"

Aaron forced his eyes open to see the half-dozen phones Penelope seemed to be holding close to him all at once and smiled just slightly as he said softly, "Hey buddy." He heard Emily start to cry softly and wished he could be there to comfort her. "Hey, why the tears already kitten? I'm not dead yet."

The soft joking note he'd injected into that last line fell flat as Emily said brokenly, "You sound like you're barely there and I've got the worst feeling that I'm never going to see you alive again."

"Let it go baby; I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

"But I might," JJ said in a singsong, fading voice. "I think I might go away from here and go visit Hawaii or somewhere else with some sunshine and white sandy beaches. Maybe get a tan before the baby comes."

Penelope took her wrist as Will said softly, "What are you talkin' 'bout Cher. Are you pregnant?"

JJ's eyes fluttered shut so Aaron answered for her. "She was apparently craving pickled beets a short time ago."

"That was her number one cravin' when she was pregnant with Henry. Jayje? Answer me Cher."

"She can't; she's lost consciousness."

"How is she hurt? For that matter, how are all of you hurt?"

New Section

"Is it really a good idea to focus on the negatives? How about focusing on the positives like the fact that Hotch has had a conniption fit trying to figure out how to juggle the next year."

"Hey!"

Emily smiled slightly at this and wiped away her tears as she exchanged confused looks with everyone present. "Why would my husband need to have a fit over anything except getting better PG?"

"Well," she drew out with considerable enthusiasm, "JJ isn't the only…"

"I got them! Oh my god. I can't believe I actually got them!"

Everyone turned as Kevin jumped up and did a happy dance. "I know where to send the emergency crews to rescue them!"

End-

**A/N: Finally! I thought thi****s chapter was never going to get finished. **

**Apologies again for the length of time between postings. I'll try to do better next time.**

**Please review with the conveniently placed link right under these words. I love to know what you think and it makes me type faster and update quicker. **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: ****I have so much to be thankful for, not the least of which is that you're all still with me despite how long it is taking me to get this story written. A combination of wanting to read more than write, being sick and being so incredibly busy with work and social commitments has set me back well over a month in my self-imposed schedule but with things beginning to settle down now, with luck you'll be seeing quite a few more posting from me in the next few weeks.**

**I want to send a HUGE shout-out to my amazing reviewers. Most of the reviews aren't actually for this piece but as you all know by now, I don't care because I just love reviews regardless of which piece they are for.**

**So first things first, I'll thank my reviewers for Missing. Massive thanks to babygurl0506 and Hazmatt for being so faithful with your reviews. You guys are amazing. Welcome to Wtiger5; your words, particularly about Kelly, are being taken into account (and if anyone else thinks Kelly should stick around, please let me know). Also thanks go out to HPforever-after, who has recently started reviewing frequently; it means a lot to me to hear what you guys have to say.**

**Reviews have been coming in fast and furious over the last weeks for pieces that go right back to the very beginning of this amazing Heart-filled journey and I can't go on until I thank them too. Thanks in abundance go out to x-MJ-x for several reviews that were more like essays; however with English as my fav subject in school, I think these were perfect and they came right when I needed them. Thanks sweetie and keep it up. Thanks also to ****HGRHfan35, who has systematically worked their way through everything from the beginning. I'm glad I didn't completely scare you off with Silence and I hope you enjoy everything I have planned still to come.**

**For all of you out there thinking maybe things have been a little too dark of late, I will shortly be pulling out some fun, mayhem and light fluffy bits for our favourite heroes. And don't forget, there is another wedding on the horizon. All those in favour of my making Rossi's life a fun kind of hell for his special day, just because I can and Teresa thinks he needs to lighten up a little bit, say Aye!**

**And now, on with chapter 9. This may or may not wrap things up; I'll see how I go.**

**Rated M for adult themes and other things.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me and I do own Carrie and Toby, Chloe and India, Kelly and Brad and Ben. **

Missing – Chapter 9

Thanks to Kevin's extreme smarts, things happened incredibly quickly after his announcement. They all said goodbye to their loved ones and Emily rushed off to find Strauss and pass on the news. The location was passed on to all concerned and it was with a little confusion that they realised the plane had gone down in The Rocky Mountains near Leadville Colorado, almost 500 miles from their intended destination and twice that far an area where the search teams had been sent to look.

The rescue crews had already been on standby as they waited for a location, so before the plane had even left Washington, crews were already on their way to the crash site. By the time the plane landed in Santa Fe, the crews had reached the survivors and were already extracting as many as they could in the first instance and sending them immediately towards the small county hospital in Leadville where additional medical staff were gathering in anticipation of treating them on site if at all possible. If the injuries they faced were too much for the hospital to deal with, they would be sent on to the hospital in Pueblo. This in itself was dangerous though, as the storm continued to wreck havoc with anything in the air and it would take a special breed of pilot to work in such chaotic weather patterns.

Thankfully they were lucky enough to have these special pilots close at hand and ready to go. As the convoy of cars left Santa Fe, two specially equipped army medical choppers landed in Leadville, waiting to see if they'd be needed to transport anyone directly to Pueblo. The pilots were among the best in the world and they knew what they were getting into in agreeing to fly in this storm. But they also wouldn't baulk at the opportunity to help where they could.

And they were desperately needed. JJ was immediately placed in one of the choppers and sent on to Pueblo, while Hotch was taken in for immediate head x-rays before he too was placed in a chopper and sent on; the compression damage to his skull and the internal swelling and bleeding in his brain beyond what any of the specialists were capable of dealing with at the small county hospital.

Reid and Derek were also sent in for x-rays. A doctor re-located Derek's shoulder before he was sent into theatre so that they could find and fix the sources of his extensive internal bleeding. Two orthopaedic specialists studied the x-rays of Reid's broken leg and after extensive conversation, the decision was made to send him on to Pueblo when the army choppers returned. The risk of infections to the multiple open fractures and the nature of the fractures themselves were simply beyond their capabilities to handle.

Penelope was fine until she was loaded into the ambulance for the trip to Leadville and then everything started to go wrong all at once; almost as if now that her 'family' was safe, she could stop being the strong one for once. Her heart rate and blood pressure plummeted and having been informed that she was pregnant, it was also obvious that she was in premature labour. The paramedics were hard-pressed to keep her with them as they rushed her towards the help she obviously desperately needed.

The bodies of the two pilots were handled with care and respect by the local coroner and with the main body of the plane now emptied, it allowed several teams of specialised rescuers to gather around Kelly and assess how they could best free her without increasing her already high chances of this crash being the last thing she ever experienced.

New Section

"How's it looking under there?"

There was a thud followed closely by a soft yelp and several swear words, before the sounds of a body moving over a rough surface signalled the man under the mangled seating returning to the place where he could sit upright again and see the man in charge of this rescue.

"It's not as bad as we first thought. She's clearly pinned straight across her pelvis and hips but the rest of this twisted hulk appears to be resting just above the rest of her legs. Some parts of her legs have some pressure on them and this is obviously of some concern; I don't however think the crush injuries are as extensive as we all first thought them to be. There may be issues arising when we move this junk, but I cautiously believe the majority of the weight is sitting primarily across her hip bone structure and is therefore not as pressing as ensuring we don't exacerbate any injuries she may have sustained elsewhere and increasing the possible damage there may be to her spine. I'd get a second and even a third opinion on that before we set about moving anything though. I don't want to be wrong here for obvious reasons.

"As to getting her out from under this piece; once you've checked out my theories we should be able to jack it up enough to get her out without any issues once everyone is in position to deal with any complications that may arise."

"That is good news. We'll be putting her directly in a basket to be taken directly into the chopper for transfer so with luck we should have her in Pueblo within the next few hours. Let's get in contact with her next of kin and suggest he stay there to wait for her. Otherwise he may miss her entirely and while you do that, I'll get Bicardi to check out what you've already seen."

New Section

They arrived in Pueblo to find an agent from the local office waiting to update them on the situation.

"I won't bother introducing myself because I doubt if any of you will remember me even five minutes from now. Kevin Lynch and Jordan Morgan will be coming with me to Leadville, the closest county hospital to where the plane crashed. SSA Derek Morgan and TA Penelope Lynch are being treated there. SSAIC Aaron Hotchner and SSA Jennifer LaMontagne are en-route to the local hospital. I'm still waiting for information on treatment locations for Dr Spencer Reid and SSA Kelly Anderson but this should come in shortly. SSA David Rossi is in the ICU at the local hospital already. An agent will be here in just a minute to lead you to where the hospital is.

"As to accommodation, you've been booked in to the local B&B and they'll take care of all your meals for you so you don't need to worry about it while you are spending so much time at the hospital with your next-of-kin. Additional vehicles will also be provided so that you have freedom to come and go as you please. Excuse me," he added as his phone rang. He listened for a moment before shutting the phone and sliding it back into his pocket. "Dr Reid will be on the next helicopter out of Leadville. SSA Anderson will be airlifted directly from the crash site and taken straight to the hospital here for treatment."

The agent motioned to his vehicle nearby and the group split up as another agent arrived to lead the majority of the group to the hospital.

15 minutes later they arrived at the hospital and were shown to a private waiting room. Teresa was led immediately to the ICU to see her fiancé and the rest of them settled in to wait for news as Brad sought information from the medical teams that he could pass on to them as they waited for further word on their loved-ones conditions.

Emily waited until she'd ensured Jack had seen his father briefly as he was rushed down to surgery before she left the group to find Teresa and see how Dave was doing. Entering the room, she was saddened to recognise most of the equipment but she was also encouraged to see that the machines were showing positive results as they monitored his condition.

"Hey," she said softly and Teresa shot her a tired smile. Emily shifted Jack in her arms and gently rubbed her back. "What are the doctors saying?"

"They're cautiously hopeful."

"How so?"

She sighed softly. "His lungs are finally dry and despite the fact that he isn't breathing on his own just yet, his blood oxygen levels are back up in the 90's. They'll be taking him off the intubation later this afternoon to see how he does. If his levels stay steady, they'll leave him off it and monitor him closely. His body temp is also back to normal which is excellent. He had a heart murmur for about a day but that appears to be settling but is being affected by the bump on the back of his head and the fact that he is still bleeding internally. They said they are trying to avoid taking him to surgery because they are concerned he is too weak to survive it and with his internal organs appearing to be intact despite the bleeding this is so far working in his factor."

"So some good news and some not so good. How long are they going to allow him to lose blood before they do something about it?"

"The team looking after his care is coming in to reassess his overall condition tonight and they'll decide then about that after they've done a whole heap more tests."

"So then the questions begs; now that you've heard all this, how are _you_ holding up?"

She shrugged. "I'll live because he lives. Besides, I'm mentally planning my wedding as I sit here so at least I'm distracted every now and then."

"Want some help with the planning?"

"You don't want to be waiting for Hotch with the rest of the group?"

"They all have each other and you are here alone while you wait. Besides, I've been told that it may be several hours before they know anything because they have to go slowly to ensure they don't increase the damage as they fix it. Both Jack and I saw him briefly when he arrived and for now that is enough. But quite frankly, I'm worried as hell and missing my girls and even though Carrie says they are all great and thinking of us, my mothers' heart wants to be back with them so much its painful to be here without them. So helping you plan your wedding, even if you end up humouring me and scrapping all of our plans later, will be a blessing of untold riches."

Teresa smiled, stood and hugged her gently. "We'll need pen and paper."

End-

**A/N: ****Thanks for sticking with me through the long intervals between postings and my promises that I'm going to have something out in a day only for it to take weeks (I'm not making promises for the next chapter). You are all amazing and I appreciate you so much!**

**I thought I might have this wrapped up by now but I think I might need a few more chapters before I'm done so more is on its way.**

**Just a reminder that I want to know your thoughts on keeping Kelly around long-term and whether or not I should make Rossi's wedding to Teresa funny-interesting or if I should just leave it romantic and sweet like all the rest.**

**Please review with the conveniently placed link right under these words. I love to know what you think and it makes me type faster and update quicker. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: To clarify what I meant in regards to Rossi's wedding, I actually only meant playing havoc with the lead-up to the wedding. The wedding itself would be classy and romantic as befits our older profiler, but I was thinking about messing with him beforehand. ****Please let me know what you think. **

**Reviews are marvellous things and I'm certain that if they stopped, I wouldn't really want to write anymore. Thankfully that doesn't appear to be an issue as I have the wonderful HGRHfan35, Hazmatt, blackandblueangel and HPforever-after to thank for lovely reviews. Thanks for your input with Kelly and Dave; I'll continue working on my ideas before I decide anything for sure but it all helps to know what you're thinking.**

**Rated M for adult themes and other things.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me and I do own Carrie and Toby, Chloe and India, Kelly and Brad and Ben. **

Missing – Chapter 10

"Em?"

Emily looked up from the book she was reading and smiled as something deep inside that had been knotted up tight relaxed.

"Hey you. I was beginning to think you'd never wake up." She put the book on the side table and scooted forward in the chair to gently stroke his hair back from his temple.

"Why do I feel like I got hit by a bus?"

"You actually got pretty badly spanked by the ground so that might explain it." When he frowned in confusion, she laughed softly. "Sorry; Penelope coined it a couple of days ago and everyone's been using it since."

"How is everyone? And did I see Jack with you before I went in to surgery earlier?"

"First off, your idea of earlier and the actual timeframe are two completely different things. You were rescued and had surgery three days ago. Secondly, everyone's going to be just fine given some time and yes, you did see Jack. He was so distraught at the thought of being left behind when we found out something bad had happened to you and you were missing that I couldn't leave without him. I'd been feeling off kilter thinking something was wrong with you and then he had a nightmare that you were in trouble and then the call came that no one could find you and you hadn't arrived and well...I think we both panicked more than a little. I'm beginning to have a greater respect for all that you put up with over the last few years what with the multiple times I was dying or just plain in trouble."

He nodded and closed his eyes. "Any chance we can turn the lights off? They're too bright."

Once the lights were out he asked softly, "Where's Jack now?"

She smiled with reluctant amusement. "He's taken a shine to Strauss of all people and has declared himself her junior assistant. She doesn't seem to mind too much and as he seems content to be with her without my constant presence, it freed me up to spend more time watching over you."

He laughed slightly and then coughed, groaned and went silent. She continued to stroke his hair as he settled, gave him a little water when he asked for it and then soothed him as he fell asleep.

The doctor came in five minutes later, checked him over briefly and then left again with the instruction that she buzz him immediately when Aaron next woke. This turned out to be an hour later as she was contemplating going to get a coffee.

"Em?"

"Here baby." She reached for the button to call the nurse before smiling at him. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"It kind of feels like I've slept the better part of the last three months away."

She grinned. "Oh, I'm pretty certain you have."

"Thanks," he said dryly.

"You're welcome."

After a minute, the nurse arrived, saw that he was awake and went to call the doctor.

"Do I really recall you telling me that Jack has appalling taste in friends?"

Emily laughed, amused at the way her husband had phrased something she'd always agreed with him on until recently. "I actually don't think she's that bad any longer. She's been wonderful with Jack and she's been extremely patient with the fact that this team will need to take yet _more_ time off work. Particularly considering the expanding change in dynamics that we are all going to be going through over the next year."

He started to ask what she meant when the doctor arrived. He sent her off to get the coffee she'd been thinking about getting and although she left the room, she found she couldn't actually leave sight of the closed door while she waited for the updated verdict on her husband's condition.

"Hey Em, you look worried. What's happening?"

She turned her head and smiled at Austin. "Nothing too serious. Aaron woke up and the doctor is in looking at him."

"Well that's great, isn't it?"

She smiled tiredly. "Of course it is. It's just, he wouldn't look directly at me and I'm worried that's it not because he doesn't want to but because he can't."

"Oh, you mean like the swelling in his head hasn't completely gone down."

"Something like that." She dropped her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. "How's Reid doing?"

"He flat out told me he'd rather be shot in the leg than go through what he's now dealing with. On the plus side though, the latest surgery appears to be his last and the doctors are now certain that the antibiotics are on top of his bone marrow infection and are killing it off sufficiently. They'll continue monitoring him closely but they've fully closed up both sites and say that with the amount of pins and plates and such in him now that he should heal up the rest of the way on his own."

"That's really good news Austin. I'm so glad to hear that. I'll let Aaron know when I'm allowed back in to the room; I know it'll be a relief to hear that everyone is doing well now."

"Hmm. Heads up sweetie."

She opened her eyes to see the doctor coming out of Aaron's room.

"He's resting again, so why don't we go and get that coffee I know you didn't get in the last ten minutes and I'll tell you what's going on."

She nodded and waved to Austin as she walked off with the doctor. Five minutes later they sat down with half-decent lattes in the cafeteria.

"Before you ask, Aaron's recovering nicely and as far as I'm concerned, he's right on schedule for a full recovery."

She nodded as she pressed, "But was it just me, or is he still struggling with his eyesight?"

"It's not just you, but it also isn't anything I wasn't expecting. I finally got a good look at the scans that were done early this morning. There is still a little swelling, mainly concentrated around his optic nerves, but its less than it was last night and that's the main thing. If it continues to go down at the same rate it has been, he'll be able to see again in the next two or three days. We'll only start worrying about it if the swelling goes down completely and he still can't see. Otherwise, hold on to the knowledge that he's getting better and don't make a big thing about his sight."

"So how much can he actually see?"

"It's all pretty blurry for him right now. Light enters his sight as bright flashes that come and go, which is why we'll be mostly keeping the lights off for the time being. He could see a vague outline of you, but he couldn't make out things like colour or depth. Your touch was the most real thing about you; that and your voice. So comfort him those ways and let the rest go for now. Alright?"

"Okay," she said softly.

He checked his pager as it went off and stood as he picked up his empty cup. "Finish your coffee and go back to Aaron's side. Make sure you get some rest tonight though. I don't like how pale and tired you're looking."

"You sound like my doctor friend Brad."

"If you mean Brad Anderson, that can only be a good thing. Listen to his advice and get some rest. You won't be able to help Aaron if we have to admit you after you collapse of exhaustion."

She smiled slightly and nodded acquiescence. She'd go back and check briefly on Aaron and then she'd go and find Jack, have dinner and catch-up with the group and then she'd sleep for the next ten hours or so before coming back tomorrow to do it all over again.

This plan was interrupted slightly by arriving at Aaron's room to find him awake and determined to find out about the rest of the team.

"Look, love, you need to rest and get better. We'll talk in the morning."

"Emily, you will tell me now what I want to know or I'm not sleeping; I'll be too worried that you are keeping secrets that I need to know."

She sighed and dropped into the chair at his side. "You haven't pulled the truly stubborn card with me in a while. You must be recovered fully from your breakdown by now to be doing that."

"Stop changing the subject and spill the beans on the team so I can rest and you can go back to wherever you're staying and do the same. You sound exhausted."

She was so amused by his attempt to be bossy from flat on his back that she started laughing and couldn't stop until she was struggling to breathe with the lack of oxygen. She wiped tears from her eyes and sighed happily.

"Thank you for cheering me up babe. I really needed a good laugh."

"You're welcome," he said with a bucket-load of posh dignity in his voice.

She giggled again and then said wistfully, "Is there anything keeping me from kissing you senseless right now?"

He appeared to think about it before shaking his head carefully. "Nothing I can think of."

"Oh goody," she murmured before she spent the next few minutes doing just that. When they both had their breath back, she settled back in the chair with her hand in his and thought about where to begin.

"You should know, first off, that everyone is going to be just fine. It may take time, but you'll all recover nicely and we'll all as a group go back to kicking ass sooner than you would think and quicker than we did after the car crash."

"Don't you still have nine months of maternity leave left to go? The way you were talking just now, you'd be coming back to work with us."

"I do, but Strauss and I have been talking over the last couple of days and I'm pretty certain that I won't want the full amount of leave I could take off. I'm already going just a little crazy being left behind. This isn't to say that I'm not thoroughly enjoying motherhood in all its wild, crazy glory, but I need to be working and after finding that I can be separated from the girls for short periods of time and with the knowledge that I'm not breastfeeding them, we are now talking about me still taking the rest of the nine months off of _full-time_ work and just doing _part-time_ work instead."

"How would that work?"

"Strauss said we could attempt something like one week on, one week off. I obviously don't interrupt a case to leave if we are on one at the end of the week or just drop in on one if you're away at the start of my week on; she said it could be as flexible as it would need to be. Particularly when we go back to talking team dynamics."

"Yeah, I vaguely remember you saying something about that earlier. So what gives?"

"Right then; I'll go through everyone and their conditions and then I'll tell you how Strauss and I have determined everything should occur over the next year. Is this acceptable?"

"Am I still in charge of the team?"

She rolled her eyes, even though she knew he couldn't see her do it and said dryly, "Very funny darling. Who do you want me to start with?"

"How's Rossi? I know they said he was found and already being treated, but the lady on the other end of the line didn't have any of the pertinent details like what his condition actually was."

"Dave woke from his coma the second day after we arrived here, much to Teresa's utter relief. They were trying to avoid sending him to surgery to repair his internal bleeding because they weren't sure he'd survive it but in the end the surgery was necessary and it helped incredibly. They replenished his blood supply and he immediately started to recover from the damage he had sustained in the river. His brain activity is good and he is coherent when he's awake; his doctors aren't so worried about him now. He has a slight murmur in his heart, but they are monitoring it closely and are convinced it's fading on its own."

"I'm glad to hear that. I think because I couldn't talk to him while we were out there that he was the one I was the most worried about, even over the girls, considering how badly off they were. Did they get Kelly out alright?"

"It's understandable that you would think that way. Kelly turned out to be a miracle in the making. It took the rescue team almost ten hours to be certain of the actions they needed to take before they did anything to remove her from the plane but when they did, it all turned out splendidly. Her crush injuries weren't as severe as they first thought and they were able to extricate her without causing her further injury. Surgery repaired those injuries and with extensive physio she should make a clear return to her old physical self in next to no time."

"She said she was most worried about losing feeling from her waist down?"

"Hmm. I'll admit there was a lot of concern about spinal damage while the swelling was obscuring their scans, but when that went down this morning, feeling returned with a vengeance. We could hear her screaming with agony for almost a minute before they got her pain levels under control. Brad assured us that she'll be fine though, so that's the main thing."

"I'm really glad to hear that. She's such a physically active woman that I think it would have hurt something in all of us if she'd been permanently sidelined for life from this crash."

"I agree, but rest assured that she'll pull through nicely.

"Now, Reid is going to be on desk duty probably for the next six months before he is allowed back into the field. He's had a total of four surgeries to repair the damage to his right leg and he's spent the last three days doped to the limit on antibiotics and aspirin, which is the strongest painkiller he'll allow them to give him and there he only gave in after Austin threatened to leave him to get better on his own after he shouted at her in his pain."

"Oh dear. Did anyone think to record it?"

"No, and don't you dare tell me off for that either. I already heard all about it from Penelope who wasn't too happy to have missed it."

"You mentioned antibiotics?"

"He has a pretty severe bone marrow infection caused by the length of exposure to the less-than-sterile conditions surrounding him before he was rescued that is only now beginning to recede in the wake of the drugs he's on. He's got pins and metal plates throughout his leg and it's to be kept immobile for at least the next four months before they'll talk about removing some of the hardware to see if he's ready for physio. We clearly heard about that one too."

"At least if they're vocal about it you know they're well and truly alive and on the mend."

"I guess so. Though I know for a fact that Jordan wishes Derek weren't quite so vocal about it. He's driving her nuts with his grumpiness caused by his pain and enforced immobility and I've heard more than one nurse say they can't wait to see the back of him when he's discharged. Jordan's asked about sending him home and moving in with us for a week or two, just for some distance."

"Amusing, I'm sure. How's his shoulder?"

"They relocated it without issue but he has a hairline fracture in the shoulder blade he needs to be careful of for the next few months while it heals. His internal injuries were worse though. The damage to his spleen and appendix were too severe to fix so the doctor just removed them. His kidneys were worse though; he lost one of them and the other one is struggling to take over the full job on its own so he's on constant dialyses for the time being. As long as the kidney finishes healing without an issue, they don't think there'll be any long-term repercussions he'll have to deal with. And it is healing; it's just taking its time about it."

"That's good news. Penelope was really worried about him right before we were rescued. She said something about it being really hard to tell when a black man loses his colour so for Derek to look so pale could only be a bad thing."

"Yeah well, she wasn't kidding but he'll pull through and that is the main thing at the end of the day."

"Very true. So what about Penelope? I know she was worried about being in labour at the end."

"Oh she was very definitely in labour, poor thing. Her blood pressure and heart rate had plummeted on the way to the hospital and Kevin swears the doctor was going to pull his hair out because nothing was working in her favour initially."

"But you said everyone was going to be alright?"

"Penelope will be fine. They got her labour stopped about the same time they stabilised her blood pressure and her heart rate returned to normal."

"So how pregnant is she?"

Emily smiled in amusement. "Pregnant enough that everyone, especially Kevin, is annoyed with her for keeping it secret. She swears she was just trying to save it til Kevin's birthday, but she's almost 17 weeks pregnant and there was absolutely no way the baby would have survived if she'd delivered it now. She says she's learnt her lesson and next time she'll be up front and centre about it. Kevin of course told her they have to survive this time first; the look she gave him apparently had all the staff surrounding her at the time commiserating with Kevin about his almost-certain future."

"I can just see it now, knowing Penelope. And JJ?"

"All scans and x-rays showed the metal missed anything vital so it was removed with little effort and the damage to the surrounding muscle and tissue was repaired with minimal effort. She's had more issue with the infection caused by the metal and like Reid has been heavily doped up with antibiotics. Unlike Reid, she was right in her assumption that she's pregnant again and the antibiotics being used aren't as strong as the doctor would like them to be as he juggles killing off the infection with _not_ killing off the baby. They think the metal came from the engine because of the amount of grease and dirt on it so her recovery has been slowed by her treatment being less than what it should be."

"So I have one of my agents already on maternity leave and another two who will be going on maternity leave in the coming months. Just peachy. How pregnant is JJ?"

"Only about 7 weeks, so just barely. Oh, and Penelope's having a girl, by the way."

"I'm delighted by that, truly. So now that I know everyone will be fine, what grand plan have you and Strauss come up with to get us through this?"

She sighed. "It's only a little bit grand and more leaning towards the desperate end of the scale. Almost everyone, with the exception of JJ, is going to be out of action for at _least_ the next six weeks while various fractures and/or internal injuries heal. Strauss is in the _almost_ literal process of making up bubble-suits for all of us because we appear to become more accident prone as the years go on. At the end of that six weeks, chances are good that only Penelope will be in any condition to actually return to work. _You_ don't get _any_ input until I'm done speaking," she said quickly when he opened his mouth to protest.

"Now, your doctor has informed us that those of you with head injuries; that is yourself and Rossi, are going to be out of action for at least the next three months as no neuro-specialist worth his medical certificate will be clearing you for work before he/she is certain that you are fully healed in the head and that is the approximate timeline for being returned to duty.

"Then there is Reid, who can return to desk duty in about eight weeks but not to field work, which is what we need. I'll slot into this category here, as a part-time return to work and _I'm not finished yet_. Again, my being part-time is not what we need.

"Kelly will be allowed to start physio in about a month once they're sure that her injuries are fully healed but it is possible that it'll be at _least_ three months before she is cleared for more than desk work. We'll be keeping her on because she's done such a great job as me so that we're still covered when JJ goes on maternity leave because Jordan has flat out said she doesn't want the job again. JJ can train her when she returns to work. JJ herself will be cleared to work in the next few weeks once the infection clears and she's stronger but with the onset of morning sickness and the lack of a working team, this might be a moot point anyway.

"So, in light of all of this, we _again_ have the rest of the year off to recuperate and get better on the understanding that if anything like this _ever_ happens again, we will be kicked out of the FBI so fast we won't know what hit us. I'm pretty certain Strauss meant that threat despite the fact that we didn't exactly ask for any of this. And yes, _now_ you may say something."

"You sound stressed. I think you need to come over here so that I can kiss you again."

She opened her mouth, closed it and then smiled reluctantly.

He grinned and beckoned with his finger. "Good answer. Now get over here."

She went quickly, before he changed his mind, kissing him until he gently pushed her back a bit.

"What you've just said makes perfect sense and if it means I get to spend more time just with our family in bonding and healing, I can deal with a few months enforced rest. Particularly knowing everyone will be fine in the end.

"Now, be a dutiful wife and go and get some rest. You still sound tired. Go, rest and come back tomorrow full of energy so you can take care of me some more; especially since you're doing such a good job of it already."

"I love you Aaron Hotchner; please try hard not to do this to me again."

"Only if you promise the same."

"Deal."

End-

**A/N: ****And there you have it. Missing is done and dusted! **

**So as you can see, I'll be working Kelly into the near-future storylines and after JJ has her second baby we'll take it from there. I'll start properly laying that foundation in the next few pieces as I bring everyone home and get them settled back in to their lives.**

**As to Rossi, I guess we'll see about that soon. **

**Thanks again for all your patience through this piece and I hope the ending is all you could have hoped for. Til next time...**

**Please review with the conveniently placed link right under these words. I love to know what you think and it makes me type faster and update quicker. **


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